In his speech, Al-Falih stressed the importance of “strategic projects assumed by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to develop railway, airports, harbors and power interconnection all represent high-level commitment towards integration and interconnection among continental basis infrastructure that fall within the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 which will support the wider integration of Saudi Arabia with regional and international economies.”

“We, in Saudi Arabia look proudly to the assiduous effort exerted by President Xi Jinping intended to fulfill the theme of ‘One Belt, One Road’ Initiative. Such efforts align with the resolve and determination shown by King Salman that drive Saudi Arabia towards the actualization of Vision 2030 as they both share several common features and notions”, the Saudi Press Agency SPA cited Al-Falih as saying.

“The potential offered by this unique initiative is immense and promising as the Kingdom is eager to take part in this historical initiative. Vision 2030 and this initiative are top priorities when speaking about economic integration as this would enable us to utilize the Kingdom’s unique location at the nexus of three continents, Asia, Africa and Europe. The Kingdom’s great and scalable infrastructure is another asset that would ease the flow of goods and commodities very efficiently among the three continents,” he added.

“The Kingdom’s own Vision 2030 also prioritizes connectivity and economic integration, which is at the heart of the ‘One Belt, One Road’ Forum. The development of transportation networks is vital for the development of any nation, and Saudi Arabia’s transportation infrastructure supports sectors like petroleum, petrochemicals, mining, industry and commerce.”

“To benefit our infrastructure, the Kingdom is now arming itself with a number of performance enhancing systems like electronic systems, active customs procedures and advanced information systems.”

For his part, Saudi Finance Minister Mohammad Al-Jadaan took part at the Workshop Session held after the Opening and General Sessions, in which the financial integration of the initiative was discussed as well as the role expected by international and regional investment organizations in support of the initiative financially.

On the other hand, Saudi Information Technology Minister signed a MoU with the Chinese party represented by its Reform and Development Committee.

Further, an executive program was signed in Beijing to implement the former MoU in order to sustain mutual ties and exchange expertise in Telecommunications so as to carry out the Silk Road Business online and choose three cities from Saudi Arabia and China, building technical portals, HR training, IT business, broadband internet network, satellite services, cyber security, digital content, academia, exchanges of expertise, and support institutions on both sides such as universities, corporations and the International Telecommunication Union.

Asharq Al-Awsat is the world’s premier pan-Arab daily newspaper, printed simultaneously each day on four continents in 14 cities. Launched in London in 1978, Asharq Al-Awsat has established itself as the decisive publication on pan-Arab and international affairs, offering its readers in-depth analysis and exclusive editorials, as well as the most comprehensive coverage of the entire Arab world.